The Gift
by Tsunderemoe
Summary: It suddenly arrived on her doorstep. She put it on, and everything that she had worked for tumbled down around her.


DISCLAIMER: Do I look like I own Rurouni Kenshin? No, I don't. Otherwise, Kenshin and Kaoru would have at least kissed once.

Sagara Sanosuke stood on the deck of his ship. "Did you ship it for me?" He asked a sailor.

"Hai, I've shipped this package to the Kamiya Dojo in Tokyo, for Kamiya Kaoru. What's inside?" Sano merely smiled a shifty grin that somehow managed to be intimidating.

"Actually, you know, it doesn't really matter! It's all fine!" The man cried and hurried away, leaving the captain to himself. Sano chuckled a little bit, then tears came to his eyes.

"Jou-chan.. My little Kaoru.. I cannot believe this is going to happen already." He sniffled a little bit. "You're like my little sister. You're going to become a woman. Or maybe you've already become one. Judging Kenshin, I guess not." He snickered before continuing his monologue. "But you'd better get him one way or another. And if Kenshin tries to take advantage of you, he will suffer!"

One of the crew approached him. "Err... Sano-san, who are you speaking to?"

"Shut up!" Sano didn't bother to look at the man. "I'm sending a telepathic message to my little sister here!"

"Sano-san has a little sister..? I didn't know.. oh well, we learn new things every day." The man scurried back downstairs.

"Anyways Jou-chan, yeah, you're like my substitute sister. And Kenshin, you'd better take good care of her or I will come to Japan and kick your ass!"

Far away, Kenshin sneezed and fell into his tub of laundry.

"Ja na, I've got a ship to steer!" Sanosuke waved to the sky.

* * *

It suddenly appeared on the porch of the Kamiya Dojo. A small packet with some foreign words - was it English? - on it, and a picture - miraculously, somehow colored!

Kaoru held the package in her hands. She blinked once or twice at the image of the woman outside, then flipped it over to see a note.

_Yo, Jou-chan! Thought I'd send you a present. Hope you like it._

_Sano_

_P.S. Wear it for Kenshin. He'll absolutely love it._

_How nice of Sano to get me something, _mused the shihandai. Kenshin was outside doing some laundry, and it was just the two of them. Yahiko had moved into Sano's old house on Ruffian Row, and Megumi had left for Aizu. Just her.. and Kenshin..

"Oh, darn, who cares, I'll wear it tonight!" She spoke aloud. She hurried back to her room and stuffed the package in her closet, under the pile of kimonos. She closed the closet and leaned against it, sighing. _Can I really do it? I mean, would Kenshin even appreciate whatever this is? I'm not sure that he would like if I wore this.. even if Sanosuke said he would.. _She shook her head. She had already told herself that she would wear it tonight.

Still in her gi and hakama, Kaoru grabbed a bokken and headed back towards the dojo to practice her katas. Hopefully that would clear her head.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kenshin was dutifully scrubbing laundry, dressed in his usual magenta gi and hakama. The sun was beating down rather harshly today, and he raised a hand to forehead to wipe the sweat away. Kaoru-dono was relaxed and happy, as he could tell from her ki. Everything was peaceful.

And then he felt it. That jolt in ki. Curiosity. Interest. Doubt. Anxiety. Kaoru-dono's ki was emitting all of these, like fireworks. Worry furrowed the red-head's brow. Was she all right? As soon as he was about to reach her, the flare in her ki died down as suddenly as it had come. There was nothing to worry about.

_Hmm.. What should I make for dinner? How about some onigiri - it's been a long time since we've had them. _He fell back into the same rhythm, washing clothes and thinking about dinner.

Kaoru-dono walked into the dojo, armed with a bokken. She smiled briefly at Kenshin before disappearing inside, and the latter was confused. In her night-blue eyes, he had seen a glimpse of mischievousness. _Something was going on, _he thought, _and I need to find out, one way or another. Kaoru-dono is hiding something from me._

* * *

Night had already approached and cloaked the sky in an inky hue. Kenshin was folding onigiri, and Kaoru was helping him. Onigiri was one of the few dishes she knew she could not mess up, and here was yet another chance to show Kenshin that she could be feminine if she wanted to. Kaoru remembered his remarks the second day that they had met.

"_Oh, Kaoru-dono! I had not recognized you in such feminine clothes," _he had said while getting accosted by the cops. Kaoru had thought that it was rather humiliating then - what did Kenshin see her as? A boy in woman's clothing?

When they had learned each other's ages, she had been slightly devastated. _Does he think of me as a child? Not a woman? _

But tonight was the perfect opportunity to show him otherwise. She was not a girl. She was a woman, and a pretty good-looking one if everything went right tonight.

The shihandai slapped her head suddenly.

"Oro? Kaoru-dono? Is everything all right?" Kenshin was suddenly alarmed.

"Iie, Kenshin, it's all right," she tried to hold a smile on her face despite the bubbling anxiety in her stomach. _Exactly when am I going to wear this again? How should I style my hair? _A nice cup of tea would really calm down her fears right now...

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" The rurouni questioned, evidently not convinced by her words. _Kaoru-dono.. what's going on? _

"Nothing, Kenshin! I'll be right back!" She quickly wiped her hands and hurried back to her room.

_Well, that was certainly weird.. I should get her dinner later, _thought Kenshin. He returned back to shaping onigiri.

In the privacy of her room, Kaoru stripped down till she was wearing nothing. Absolutely nothing. The frigid night air hit her skin and she shivered involuntarily, gooseflesh forming on her arms. She took a bottle of lotion and applied it smoothly on her skin, sensually rubbing it up and down. When she was satisfied with how her skin looked, she put on the undergarments given. First, a turquoise blue garment that looked like it was supposed to be for her chest.

"Argh.. these straps are annoying to put on," Kaoru muttered. _Click. _Finally! It had gone on! Now for the bottom part. That was pretty self explanatory. She slid on the underwear and then put on the sock-like things. They were sheer and lacy at the top. Then, the garment that went over all that. Kaoru shuddered. It was a matching turquoise color, and pretty sheer, only hitting the top of her thighs. Did everything have to be sheer?

In the package, Sano had also given bought some.. shoes with an abnormally high heel. Kaoru tried these on and they fit on perfectly.

Kaoru fumed. _How did he know my shoe size?_

There was also a set of lace fingerless gloves. Kaoru decided that the gloves looked too gaudy, and cast them aside. Finally, Sano had sent her some sort of tan coat, with a note inside.

_Jou-chan, if you've come this far, then don't back down. It's gonna be all right._

_Sano_

_PS If Kenshin tries anything funny before the wedding night, punch him and tell him that was from Sano._

The raven-haired woman smiled at Sano's note. It was comforting to know that he truly cared about her. She spread the coat on the floor, and went to the vanity in her room. She applied some gold eyeshadow and red lipstick, making her eyes stand out.

Meanwhile, Kenshin was bringing a tray of onigiri to Kaoru's room. He paused right outside the shoji, watching Kaoru's silhouette as she braided her hair and reached for a ribbon to tie it all up.

_I guess it's safe now, _he inferred, and slid open the shoji.

The tray tumbled from his hands, and he caught it at the last second. But that was not the problem.

It was Kaoru that was the problem.

She was wearing a blue sheer dress - did that even deserve to be called a dress? - that barely reached the top of her thighs and had a low neckline to tease him with a hint of decolletage. It was mostly see-through and Kenshin could see the barely-concealed curves of her waist and her hips. His gaze traveled a little further down. Kaoru was wearing stockings that were sheer and somehow made her legs look more alluring. These stockings were topped topped with a lace bordering, the same turquoise color as the.. dress, he would call it.

Kenshin set the tray down hastily and approached the shocked Kaoru. She backed up against the wall, and when she hit the wall, Kenshin placed his forearm against the wall and leaned over Kaoru.

"Now, who bought you this?" he asked in a low voice. Kaoru bit her lip and looked away. Kenshin grasped her chin.

"I asked you; **Who bought this?"**

"Sano."

"Ahh." He nuzzled his nose into the crook of Kaoru's neck and brought her flush against him. He could feel her breasts against his chest, and Kaoru instinctively threw her arms around him. He paused to nibble down the line of her neck when he realized something: she might be cold. Suddenly, he wrenched her away from him and yanked his magenta gi off, leaving him shirtless. He draped the gi around the shihandai and brought her close to him again.

"I thought you might be cold," he murmured, and started attacking the other side of her neck, licking and nibbling. Kaoru laughed shakily. "What about the coat on the floor?"

"I've always wanted to see you in my gi," he said in between kisses.

"Wait, Kenshin," Kaoru pushed Kenshin away. "I thought," she struggled for a good choice of words, "you didn't see me that way."

The redhead practically growled. "Didn't see you that way? Kaoru, how dense can you be? You're my woman in my eyes. I've never seen you as anything else. The age difference? Forget it. You're old enough to be a woman, and more mature than many of them."

"Then why wait to tell me till now, Kenshin?" Kaoru prodded him.

Kenshin chuckled. "Well, I wasn't sure if you were ready enough." That earned him a pointed glare. "Or rather, I had my doubts. But seeing you in this, yeah, I know definitely that you love me. Who else would you put this on for?"

Kaoru playfully slapped his head. "Kenshin no BAKA! I've been waiting forever. Anyways, say that again."

"Say what again?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Kaoru-koishii. Will you be my wife? Will you stand by my side forever? Will you be mine?"

Kaoru reached up and caressed his face. "Of course, baka. Now kiss me."

"Gladly." Kenshin tilted Kaoru's head and kissed her fully on the lips. His feisty shihandai responded with equal, or even greater, fervency; she had him begging for more and more as he attacked her lips again and again. Her fingers curled into his hair and pulled it free from the restraining leather band, stroking it. In response, Kenshin slid his free hand up the nightdress and grasped her waist, reveling in the softness of her curves. His hand snaked around the back and pulled her even closer to his body.

"Kenshin.." Kaoru moaned. She twisted her hands into his hair and clenched it. Instinctively, one of her legs wrapped itself around Kenshin's torso in an attempt to pull him closer. Kenshin coaxed her lips open with his tongue and sucked on hers, tasting her sweet mouth. Oh, how he'd like to savor that taste on his tongue! One of his hands snaked its way up her leg and grasped her thigh. Kaoru merely left his sweet mouth and made her way down his neck, kissing, sucking, and licking. She hit a particularly sensitive spot on the side of Kenshin's neck, and he groaned. Inwardly, Kaoru smiled; it brought her a feminine pleasure to make him groan like that. On impulse, she bit his skin, making him gasp. She soothed the red flesh with her tongue, feeling her beloved's muscles clench and relax beneath her hands.

"So you want to play dirty, do you?" Lazy amethyst eyes opened and using his god-like speed, he scooped up Kaoru in his arms and placed her on the futon nearby. "Let me do all the biting, Koishii." He leaned over her and inserted a knee smoothly between her legs, then placed his weight on his forearms. Savagely, he attacked her lips with bruising force, then took the shell of her ear into his mouth, sucking and licking it. He released her red ear, and swirled his tongue over the soft flesh behind her ear. It tasted sweet and salty, with a hint of jasmine. Meanwhile, Kaoru's hand were exploring Kenshin's arms and chest. Her thumbs brushed over his nipples, and he groaned. His self control shattered.

Kenshin slid his gi off of Kaoru's shoulders and brought her sheer nightdress over her head and flung it to the side, leaving her in the panties, matching bra, and the stockings. He quickly slid the stockings off, too. He kissed his way up her leg and was about to remove the ridiculous contraption on her chest when Kaoru sat up.

"Kenshin." She enunciated his name clearly. "Sano left a note." The redhead lazily cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what do I care about notes from Sano?"

"Here, let me read it," Kaoru grabbed the slip of paper lying on top of the tan coat. "If Kenshin tries anything funny before the wedding night, punch him and tell him that was from Sano." She turned to face Kenshin again. "Got that?"

"Fine," he grumbled. "But he didn't say anything about sleeping together." He rose and grabbed a blanket from her closet.

"Say what now?" Kaoru was confused.

"Only sleeping, Koishii. Only sleeping. I'm not going to do anything to you tonight. I promise," he said solemnly, spreading the blanket over his raven-haired beauty. Kaoru took one look at herself.

"Geez, Kenshin! You marked me all over!" Sure enough, there were love bites peppered all over her neck and torso, and a few scattered on her thighs.

"Gomen, Kaoru. I was.. ah.. a little caught up." Kenshin smirked a little, then slid beneath the blanket. He slipped his arms around Kaoru and pressed his nose to her hair.

"Sleep, Kaoru-chan, sleep." Kaoru fumed a little bit at the "-chan," but otherwise stayed still. Then a question formed on her lips.

"Ne, Kenshin, can you stop poking me?" Kenshin shook with silent laughter.

"Don't worry Kaoru, it'll calm down soon enough. Just sleep." Kaoru went red in the face, and buried her face into Kenshin's chest. They held each other tightly, securely. Tomorrow would come and go, seasons would, change, but it didn't matter. They would face everything together.

Fin~~

Author's note: Hey guys! This is my first work of fanfiction, even though I've written plenty of other stories before for school and amusement. Please tell me if I made any grammatical errors, or if the story didn't flow well enough. I know Kenshin sounded a little too forward with his feelings, but that's what lust does to some men XD


End file.
